Welcome to the Hog Blog, a blog chronicling minor-league baseball in the Lehigh Valley. Tom Housenick, The Morning Call's IronPigs beat writer, has been at The Morning Call since 2008. In a previous lifetime, he was at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic talking with future Phillies Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, among many others.
He’ll now be spending his summers in search of who the Phillies are hoping to be the next Chase Utley and Cole Hamels plus any outfielder who catch and hit. What he really hopes to find are the next Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Jim Thome --- great human beings who happened to be great at this sport.
He spent the last five years covering Colonial League football, college basketball and high school track & field.

Dewayne Wise remains out of the lineup for the second straight night after spraining his right ankle two nights ago while scoring in the ninth inning.

Then, just before the teams took the field for pregame warmups on Friday, Luis Maza was scratched after getting hit in the face by an errant ball during batting practice. He was repaced by Melvin Dorta, hitting second.

If Maza is unavailable, that leaves only catchers John Suomi and Dane Sardinha on the bench at the start of th game. (Remember, Northampton native Brian Schneider begins the first of a three-day rehab assignment tonight).

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Wilson Valdez has cleared waivers and has reportedly agreed to return to the IronPigs, although no official announcement has been made. If he does return, someone will have to go from the roster to make room.

Valdez had been replaced by Dorta when the Phillies summoned him after Jimmy Rollins was injured earlier in the season. Dorta is hitting .263 in 20 games.

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Speaking of injuries, a conversation with Louisville manager Rick Sweet revealed that Justin Lehr is looking at probable Tommy John surgery.